SAARC must promote environment of peace: Aziz

New Delhi, Apr 3: In a clear attempt to highlight his country's sharp differences with New Delhi on critical issues, Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz today regretted that the political environment in South Asia had remained vitiated by disputes and mistrust and called upon the SAARC nations to promote an environment of genuine peace and security in the region.

''The reason why we have been slow in catching up with other regional organisations is evident. The political environment in South Asia has remained vitiated by disputes and mistrust. We have remained mired in conflict management. The consequent drain on our energies has held us back from achieving the goals that we have set for ourselves in the SAARC Charter,'' he said, addressing the 14th SAARC Summit here.

Mr Aziz said since there was clearly a direct correlation between security and development, the SAARC nations ought to resolve differences and disputes within and between them through dialogue and compromise. However, he avoided making any reference to outstanding issues between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Emphasising that SAARC countries must first build trust and confidence, he said there was need for removing the obstacle of the trust deficit which had hampered meaningful cooperation in the region.

Mr Aziz said the countries of the region must reinforce and uphold the principles of peaceful coexistence, especially to ensure respect for sovereign equality among them.

They must build inter-dependencies and share best practices so that they helped each other in a great manner. ''A shared desire for regional cooperation will not suffice--we need to have real and tangible benefits that accrue to all sides in order to make such cooperation possible,'' he added.

He was of the view that SAARC countries should promote a level-playing field for a truly effective refional division of labour and production. ''As a first step, this would require a truly open environment for regional trade--devoid of all types of barriers to free trade,'' he added.

UNI